CHC to renew ER physician contract

COLDWATER — Revenues at the Community Health Center of Branch County were down again for July, trustees learned, with the same issues responsible.

CHC Chief Financial Officer Connie Downs said revenues were $1.5 million under budget, but with cuts to operating expenses, the loss was only $127,201.

Admission were down 39 or 15.7 percent for July, with total inpatient days down 125 or 13.8 percent.

Physician revenues for its clinics were down because of vacations.

Operating cash remains at its highest this year, with 111 days of operating funds.

While surgeries are down, the hospital added new surgeon Dr. Jessica Block on Aug. 21, with her office in the CHC Medical Specialties East building.

The hospital trustees agreed to extend the current contract with Emergency Physicians Medical Group for one year, until Sept. 30, 2018. This is while the county-owned hospital completes its sale to ProMedica of Toledo.

EPMG has contracted to provide emergency medical doctors since October 2006.

CHC President and CEO Randy DeGroot said he did not go out for a new request for proposals, since he was aware of similar contracts for emergency room services in the state. He said the contract was an increase to reflect current difficulties in recruiting doctors for emergency services.

CHC will subsidize EPMG by $257,500 for the year, while its total cost is $387,500.

EPMG also contracts to provide ER services at Sturgis Hospital, in addition to many others in the country.

CHC Emergency Medical Director Dr. David Fuchs asked how concerned the hospital was with declining ER visits since January and the effect on the bottom line.

“It causes decline in outpatient and ancillary services,” DeGroot added. “It’s a significant amount, as you are aware.”

Staff has been looking at the issues and numbers.

Dr. Fuchs said the Sturgis ER has seen its patient volume go up 1.2 percent from 2016 to this year.

CHC Medical Chief of Staff Dr. Joe Daoud noted that Sturgis has opened its own urgent care.

With three in Coldwater, “maybe its something that we need to look at,” he said. “I think that has something to do with (reduction in use).”

Dr. Daoud added that when patients come to

CHC for urgent care needs, the patients gets charged the $200 ER deductible, rather than urgent care fees. “If they go to urgent care, they pay $20,” he said. “I’ve talked to nurses who do it if they need care after hours.”

The medical director asked if the hospital could set up a separate urgent care in the hospital to charge the lower fees.

“I think it is going to get worse,” he said. “It’s not going to get better.”

Dr. Daoud said private doctors get penalized every quarter from insurance companies for patients assigned to them who go to the emergency room.

A number of health insurance companies are now refusing to reimburse hospitals for emergency care rates when the problem is actually an urgent care-type treatment.